A reading by the then 80 year old Charles Reznikoff, recorded at the Poetry Center of San Francisco State University on March 21, 1974, in which the poet reads a selection of his works written from 1918 to 1974. Reznikoff, along with fellow poets Carl Rakosi, Louis Zukofsky, and George Oppen were dubbed the Objectivist Poets by Ezra Pound back in the 1930s, and it is Oppen who offers a warm introduction at the start of this program. Reznikoff then reads a number of his mostly short and untitled poems, the topics of which range from vignettes about life in New York City, portraits of working people of varying ethnicity, stories garnered from law reports, and ruminations on Judaism. Always cheerful, never boring, and free of all pretension, this is a poet for the ages.

Note: The attribution of these poems is based on the 2005 edition of “The Poems of Charles Reznikoff” edited by Seamus Cooney except where noted.

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